Christmas onion tart with Haloumi cheese, figs and Greek prosciutto

A festive tart to serve as a first dish or among other dishes at a buffet party during the Christmas holidays! I suppose you are surprised by the "Greek prosciutto" bit in the title but believe it or not, beside our Italian friends, Greeks do produce their own prosciutto too! About which, to be honest, I had no idea until a few years ago... One of the best qualities of Greek prosciutto is made in a charcuterie of Proussos village of Evrytania region (Central Greece) and it has become a special delicacy and fortunately widely known nowadays. Back to the recipe, this is a rather easy tart to prepare where the flavours of the prosciutto and the Haloumi cheese work together perfectly!

Recipe from "Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 8 people):

800gr. of yellow (or red onions), peeled and cut in thin slices
200gr. of Haloumi cheese, cut in small cubes
1 sheet of shortcrust pastry
3 tbsp of butter
3 tbsp of olive oil
4 dried figs, finely chopped
6 tbsp of white vinegar
2 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 tsp of finely chopped sage
salt
hot pepper
8 thin slices of prosciutto to garnish

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Brush with butter and lightly dust with flour a tart tin of 30cm diameter (or the relevant square or oblong).

Lay the pastry carefully in the tin, covering the bottom and the sides of it. Line on the pastry a piece of baking paper and fill with ceramic baking beans. Put in the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes.

In the meantime, warm the butter and the oil on medium heat in a wide frying pan. Add the onions and the sugar and sauté for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened and lightly caramelised.
Pour over with the vinegar, stir and after a couple of minutes take off the heat.

Take the baked pastry base out of the oven and discard the baking paper and the beans. Lay on top the figs, sprinkle with the sage and season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly the onion mixture and scatter on top the cheese cubes.

Put the tart back in the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes until it is golden brown.

Take out of the oven, leave aside to come to a lukewarm state, garnish with the prosciutto slices and serve.